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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Arts San Antonio Presents Yamato Drummers of Japan

Yamato was founded by Masa Ogawa in 1993 in Nara, "the land of Yamato” which is said to be the birthplace of Japanese culture. Presently based in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, Yamato travels all over the world with Japan’s traditional Wadaiko drums, putting their very souls into the unusual instruments, whose sound stirs the hearts of people everywhere.

In the village of Asuka, a place with more than a thousand years of history and culture, Yamato seeks new expression with Wadaiko as its backbone. They think of the sound of the drums as a pulse or heartbeat (Shin-on), the center of life and the source of power which pulsates within the human body. Yamato attempts to create the energy of life, which envelops the audience and performers.

The theme of Yamato’s 2015-16 program is “Bakuon" or “Legend of the Heartbeat." The story is based on the sound of the heartbeat in every one of us. This sound of the heartbeat is continuous, from our birth and growth to our day-to-day existence. Above all, we who carry this sound are the protagonists in this story of today, which is but a brief moment in the endlessness of time.